Leader of the Movement for Social Justice David Abdulah believes that Junior Works Minister Stacy Roopnarine was pressured into apologising to her boss Dr Suruj Rambachan because her accusations had made the Government “look bad.” Abdulah’s comments came a day after Roopnarine admitted she was wrong about her accusations against Rambachan that he was interfering in the construction of the multi-million dollar Curepe Interchange.
Speaking at a press conference held at MSJ’s headquarters in St Joseph Village yesterday, Abdulah said, “There is no doubt in my mind that pressure was applied and this is why the Junior Minister Roopnarine had a change of heart.” He said, however, that the “very fact that a junior minister could challenge a senior minister over serious allegations of interference and corruptions is cause for concern.”
“This has put the Government in a bad light and the Government knew they needed to patch this up. This is why she came out and said she was wrong,” Abdulah said. Roopnarine had penned a letter to Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar on September 4, expressing concerns that Rambachan had interfered in the bidding process for the construction of the Curepe Interchange.
She said local contractor Lutchmeesingh was engaged in the bidding process rather than Vinci Construction, which built the Aranguez and Grand Bazaar Interchanges. This, she said, could have legal ramifications. She later said she was ill-advised about the process. Last week president of the Local Content Chamber Lennox Sirjuesingh said Roopnarine’s allegations underscored the need for the immediate passage of Public Procurement legislation.
“I don’t feel comfortable with a minister calling in a contractor and asking to cut down the cost of a project. That is “He added that it was questionable how a company could cut back the cost of a contract by millions of dollars upon request.
“Best practice is that in the event a project was overpriced or underpriced, you re-tender,” Sirjuesingh said. Saying he admired Roopnarine for the position she took, Sirjuesingh said, “This is the new breed of politicians that we need. If Minister Roopnarine ends up in the dog house now for raising these concerns, then so be it.” He said the Public Procurement Bill was meant to bring about transparency in the use of public money.
“We are hoping when the bill is passed and implemented, we will not have interference in projects by the line ministers,” Sirjuesingh said. Meanwhile, President of the Joint Consultative Council for the Construction Industry Afra Raymond said the bill will bring transparency in the award of contracts. Saying procurement laws were needed now, Raymond expressed satisfaction that the Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Property (No. 2) Bill, 2014 was laid before the Lower House.
Saying this is an endorsement of the work undertaken by the civil society groups and the Senate to date, Raymond called for the bill to be passed expeditiously. “It is very much in the public interest that there be no further delays in giving the nation the reformed legislation that we so badly need,” Raymond added. In an exclusive Sunday Guardian story, Roopnarine said after she wrote the letter she was advised on the legal parameters that a contract can be awarded.
Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar also said in Parliament that she had made enquiries into matter but NIDCO chairman Dr Carsen Charles said he was never contacted about issues involving Board interference in the Curepe Interchange contract.
Suruj: Ministry’s work continues
The work of my ministry continues. That was the comment issued by Works and Infrastructure Minister Dr Surujrattan Rambachan following an apology to him by the Minister of State in his ministry, Stacy Roopnarine. Rambachan said yesterday since the issue was made public, he “placed all the facts in the public domain at Cabinet.” He said the Prime Minister had spoken and he had no further comment to make on the matter.
Asked about his working relations with Roopnarine, Rambachan said: “The business of the ministry continues as usual.” The contract for the highway project is yet to be awarded.
—Richard Lord